On April 23rd, the State Council Information Office held a regular briefing on the policies of the State Council, introducing the situation of promoting stable scale and optimized structure of foreign trade. Wang Shouwen, the representative and deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce for international trade negotiations, stated at the meeting that the foreign trade situation has been very severe since the beginning of this year. The Ministry of Commerce cooperates closely with various regions and departments, and foreign trade enterprises have also taken a series of measures to stabilize orders and expand the market.
In the first quarter, China's foreign trade import and export achieved a growth of 4.8%, which was very difficult and achieved a "stable opening". However, we must see that China's foreign trade situation is still complex and severe, facing many difficulties and challenges. From the perspective of external environment, the uncertainty of external demand remains the biggest constraint.
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In April, the International Monetary Fund lowered the global economic growth rate from 2.9% to 2.8%, believing that the slowdown in developed country economies would be very significant. Everyone has also noticed that the foreign trade of neighboring countries has recently decreased significantly. For our country, from October last year to February this year, foreign trade exports showed negative growth in US dollars. From the perspective of business entities, China's foreign trade enterprises also face some constraints and difficulties, such as inconvenient participation abroad, increasing trade risks, and increasing business pressure.
Stable scale and optimized structure
Guide the gradient transfer of processing trade to the central, western, and northeastern regions
Wang Shouwen stated that the Ministry of Commerce specially organizes research and conducts investigations and studies in 18 provinces and cities, coordinates current and long-term needs, analyzes the demands of foreign trade enterprises, formulates relevant policies in conjunction with relevant departments such as the People's Bank of China and the General Administration of Customs, improves the foresight and accuracy of policies, and reports them to the State Council. The State Council will study and introduce relevant policies based on this.
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This policy is divided into two aspects: first, stabilizing scale, and second, optimizing structure:
In terms of stabilizing scale, there are three aspects:
One is to strive to create trade opportunities. Including the widespread resumption of offline exhibitions in China, improving the efficiency of APEC business travel card processing, and promoting the safe and orderly recovery of international passenger flights. In addition, the Ministry of Commerce has requested embassies and consulates abroad to increase their support for foreign trade enterprises, and will also issue specific measures related to national trade guidelines, aimed at increasing trade opportunities for enterprises.
The second is to stabilize the trade of key products. It includes helping automobile enterprises to establish and improve the International marketing service system, ensuring the reasonable capital demand of large complete equipment projects, and accelerating the revision of the catalogue of technologies and products encouraged to be imported.
The third is to stabilize foreign trade enterprises. This includes researching and establishing the second phase of the Service Trade Innovation and Development Guidance Fund, encouraging banks and insurance institutions to expand cooperation in policy financing and credit enhancement, actively meeting the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises for foreign trade financing, and accelerating the expansion of industrial chain underwriting, among other specific measures.
In terms of optimizing the structure, there are mainly two aspects:
One is to optimize trade methods. The Ministry of Commerce has proposed to guide the gradient transfer of processing trade to the central, western, and northeastern regions; We will also revise the border trade management measures to support the development of global trade digital navigation zones in the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area; Guide relevant chambers of commerce and associations to adapt to green and environmental protection requirements, formulate green and low-carbon standards for foreign trade products, and guide enterprises to make good use of tax policies related to cross-border e-commerce retail exports.
The second is to optimize the environment for foreign trade development. The Ministry of Commerce has proposed to give full play to the role of the early warning system and legal service mechanism, deepen the construction of a "single window", further facilitate the processing of export tax refunds, improve the efficiency of port clearance, implement the effective free trade agreements with high quality, and also compile and issue application guidelines for key industries.
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Support enterprises in exploring diversified markets
Country trade guidelines will be released
Wang Shouwen expressed support for enterprises to explore diversified markets. The Ministry of Commerce will issue national trade guidelines, and each country will develop a trade promotion guide for key markets. We will also make good use of the trade facilitation working group mechanism under the "the Belt and Road" established with many countries to promote the solution of the difficulties Chinese enterprises encounter in developing markets in the countries along the "the Belt and Road" and increase opportunities for enterprises.
At the same time, it was stated that it will continue to deepen trade innovation, especially in e-commerce. E-commerce is different from traditional trade methods. It is conducted online, breaking through time constraints, allowing transactions to be made 24 hours a day, and also breaking through space limitations. It allows foreign buyers to come to China for procurement without leaving their homes, which helps Chinese suppliers sell to various parts of the world through e-commerce without leaving their homes.
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How to help enterprises stabilize orders and expand the market?
What further considerations are there in helping enterprises stabilize orders and expand the market in the next step? Response from the Ministry of Commerce
At this briefing, Wang Shouwen, the representative and deputy minister of the Ministry of Commerce for international trade negotiations, and relevant officials from the People's Bank of China and the General Administration of Customs introduced the situation of promoting the stability, scale, and structure of foreign trade, and answered questions from reporters.
A reporter asked, "Since the beginning of this year, various regions have taken measures to help enterprises obtain new orders and explore overseas markets. Can you introduce the relevant situation? What further considerations are there in helping enterprises stabilize orders and expand the market in the next step?
In response, Wang Shouwen stated that since the beginning of this year, foreign trade enterprises have seen significant growth in promoting trade and matching demand from suppliers and purchasers. To this end, the Ministry of Commerce, relevant departments, and local governments have carried out a series of work to provide some support and guarantees for foreign trade enterprises, including in applying for visas, handling air tickets, participating in exhibitions, etc., so that enterprises can expand their markets domestically or internationally and strive for orders. Specifically, there are several aspects to the work we have already done and the next steps to be taken:
Firstly, organize the Canton Fair well, as well as a series of other exhibitions. At this moment, the Canton Fair is ongoing, and it is very important for trade enterprises as suppliers and foreign buyers as demanders to connect with exhibitions like the Canton Fair. The offline exhibition of the 133rd Canton Fair is currently underway, and the second phase has also begun. The Canton Fair features numerous highlights, an increase in the number of booths, and new content in the exhibits. Exhibitors are very enthusiastic, combining online and offline exhibitions to promote each other, and the results are very good. There are already many specific reports, I won't go into detail. The Canton Fair also held some professional international trade forums that covered specific fields and were welcomed by exhibitors and buyers. The Canton Fair is just one of our series of exhibitions, and of course, it is undoubtedly the largest one. The number of various exhibitions registered or approved by the Ministry of Commerce in the first quarter reached 186, and we need to assist enterprises in coordinating supply and procurement.
Secondly, facilitate the exchange of business personnel. Business personnel need to go abroad, or foreign guests need to come to China for supply and procurement docking. Currently, there are relatively few international flights and ticket prices are relatively expensive. The civil aviation department actively supports this and has taken a series of measures. Now, the recovery rate of our country's international flights has reached nearly 30% compared to before the epidemic, and we are still working hard to make full use of these flights. For the difficulties encountered in visa application, enterprises need to apply for a visa when going overseas, or foreign guests need to apply for a Chinese visa when coming to China. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant departments are promoting relevant countries to facilitate the application of visas for our enterprises, and we also provide convenience for foreign enterprises to apply for visas in China. It is particularly worth mentioning that we support the practice of replacing visas with APEC business travel cards, and virtual visa cards will be allowed to enter China on May 1st. At the same time, relevant domestic departments are further studying and optimizing remote detection measures to provide convenience for business personnel to visit China.
Thirdly, continue to deepen trade innovation. Especially worth mentioning is e-commerce. E-commerce is different from traditional trade methods. It is conducted online, breaking through time constraints, allowing transactions to be made 24 hours a day, and also breaking through space limitations. It allows foreign buyers to come to China for procurement without leaving their homes, which helps Chinese suppliers sell to various parts of the world through e-commerce without leaving their homes. It should be said that cross-border e-commerce has developed well and is very popular among enterprises in our country. It reduces transaction costs, helps enterprises establish their own brands and sales channels, and improves their overall competitiveness. The Ministry of Commerce is preparing to solidly promote the construction of a comprehensive cross-border e-commerce pilot zone, carry out brand training, rule and standard construction, and high-quality development of overseas warehouses. We are also preparing to hold an on-site meeting of the cross-border e-commerce comprehensive demonstration zone to promote some good practices in cross-border e-commerce.
Fourthly, support enterprises in exploring diversified markets. The Ministry of Commerce will issue national trade guidelines, and each country will develop a trade promotion guide for key markets. We will also make good use of the trade facilitation working group mechanism under the "the Belt and Road" established with many countries to promote the solution of the difficulties Chinese enterprises encounter in developing markets in the countries along the "the Belt and Road" and increase opportunities for enterprises. In this regard, embassies, consulates and business institutions stationed abroad will provide convenience and services for enterprises, especially for small and medium-sized enterprises to develop the "the Belt and Road" market, and provide support and convenience.